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THE APOSTLES’ CREED SERIES(WEEK 3/8: CONCEIVED BY THE HOLY SPIRIT, BORN OF THE VIRGIN MARY)SMALL GROUP DISCUSSION QUESTIONSCONNECT: Think about which aspects of your life are not under the Lordship of JesusChrist and reflect on how you can hand them over to Jesus day by day.WARM-UP Question1.Do you think that some people find the virgin birth to be more difficult to accept than the resurrection orother miracles? If so, why do you think this might be the case?2.Why do you think that believing in this part of the creed can be such a stumbling block for some?Read Matthew 1:1-193.What is it about this account that points to it being an historical account rather than a legend?4.Do you think it is possible to understand biology but also believe that Jesus was conceived by the HolySpirit? Why or why not?Read Matthew 1:20-255.How does the genealogy point to the birth of Jesus being an important high-point of history?6.What is the significance of the name Jesus? How is his name like Jesus’ job description?7.How would Jesus ultimately save the world? Why was he the only one who could do it?8.In what way did Jesus even have authority over Mary and Joseph? Why was Mary in need of a Saviourtoo? (see Luke 1:46) How does this differ from some people’s view that Mary was without sin?9.What is significant about the name Emmanuel? Why is this such great news that God has drawn close?10. How does this account (and this part of the Creed) affirm – so clearly – both the humanity and divinityof Jesus? Why are both essential if Jesus was to redeem the world?11. How is it clear the Jesus is not only from God, but also God himself?12. In what way does the work of the Spirit point to Jesus’ conception being a sign pointing to the work ofnew creation? How will this be ultimately made possible and fulfilled?13. How does Mary and Joseph’s trust in this situation inspire you to trust in God more?14. Is there anything new about this part of the Creed that you have learnt this week that has been helpful?APPLY (to this week): How can you grow in your trust in God even when you can’t fullyunderstand his ways?PRAY: Gracious God, thank you for redeeming the world through the Lord Jesus Christ. Thank you for thework of New Creation begun in him, please help us to be part of your unfolding Kingdom in the world.Please help us to deepen and strengthen our belief. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.For sermons and additional resources, visit STBARTS.COM.AU
THE APOSTLES’ CREED SERIES(WEEK 3/8: CONCEIVED BY THE HOLY SPIRIT, BORN OF THE VIRGIN MARY)GOING DEEPER RESOURCES & SUGGESTIONSEach week we provide additional resources that help to go deeper with whatever series we’recurrently focusing on as a church. Resources could include recommended books, articles, onlinesermons, courses, or videos. These are optional extras! Please don’t feel under pressure to look atevery resource, but consider what could be useful to.I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth. I believe in JesusChrist, God’s only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virginMary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried; he descendedto the dead. On the third day he rose from the dead; he ascended into heaven, and isseated at the right hand of the Father; from there he will come to judge the living and thedead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, theforgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.Talks & Audio ‘His Virgin Birth’ by John Stotthttp://admin.resonate.org.nz/media/3727 ‘A supernatural Child’ by Dick eo ‘Why are the virgin birth, empty tomb and the resurrection controversial?’ by NT Wrighthttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v G2xCP5odvNQ ‘The Story of Christmas (Jesus is born)’ a video for familieshttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v v3656G6tWuI ‘The Birth of Jesus – Luke 1-2’ by the Bible Projecthttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v OLezoUvOEQ&t 19s ‘Yahweh Saves’ by Tim Mackiehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v S1TLU9fG5mYBooks & Articles ‘Suspending Scepticism and the Virgin Birth’ by NT /12/28/3398969.htm ‘Is the Virgin Birth essential’ by Kevin r sermons and additional resources, visit STBARTS.COM.AU
Talk 3/8 (The Apostles’ Creed Series): 22/10/17“Conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary”by the Rev’d Adam LoweBible Passage: Matthew 1:18-25Today we continue our series on the Apostles’ Creed,of not only what we believe individually and corporately,but also what Christians have believed from one-generation-to-another. As we move through each phrase,we have the opportunity - afresh or for the first time to affirm that this is what we believe. Saying ‘I BELIEVE’, involves facts, trust, and obedience. So far we’ve explored:“I BELIEVE in God, the Father Almighty, creator of heaven and earth;“I BELIEVE in Jesus Christ, his only Son our Lord” Today coming to: “I BELIEVE in Jesus Christ conceived by the Holy Spirit, and born of the Virgin Mary.This part of the creed is often one that evokes all sorts of reactions. Some thinking, well, this is a bit quaint but ultimately naive,right through to others thinking actually this is a bit odd and embarrassing. Perhaps you’ve found yourself, rushing through this line,really wondering if this is something that you can believe.!2
Of course, if you’ve found yourself in that position, you wouldn’t be alone.This belief has been surrounded by skepticism and even mockery for a long time.The notion that Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit to a young Galilean girl,is, it seems, one of the most objectionable beliefs of the Christian faith. Sometimes people will believe in all of Jesus’ miracles, including the resurrection,but this just seems one step too far, regularly dismissed on two grounds, either:because people believe that this is just not historical, it was made-up later on; ORbecause we think that ancient people just didn’t understand basic biology. With regards to the first concern, that this just isn’t historical,well we know that this was believed from very early on. We know that not just from the two independent Gospel accounts that we have:Luke and Matthew, but we also know that this was a claim from the beginning,because of the amount of criticism that it drew from early protagonists of Christianity. From very early on we see claims from Greco-Roman authors suggesting,Jesus’ conception was suspicious. Some Jews had created rumours too. In fact there was one nasty early rumour that suggested that Mary had had an affairwith a Roman Soldier. That was particularly pointed because it not only insinuatedthat she was an adulterer, but also a conspirer with the Roman occupiers. So we know that from early days, that there were questions about Jesus’ birth.!3 They didn’t agree with what Christians believed, but their skepticism points to thereality that Jesus being conceived by the Holy Spirit was a very early claim. And when you take all of that, it also points to the fact, that to suggest that theseancient people just didn’t understand where babies come from, is nonsense. Of course they did: that’s why it attracted so much criticism. And it’s not like Mary and Jospeh weren’t shocked by this news either! In Luke, when Mary hears the announcement of what is going to happen,and she questions it, saying, well this is impossible, ‘how can this be?’,the response, as it is rendered in some translations is:For nothing will be impossible with God (Luke 1:37, ESV) Of course they understood where babies come from,that’s why Jospeh’s first thought was to break off the engagement! It would take some form of supernatural intervention to convince him otherwise. But that’s exactly what God did. And God didn’t just do that for Jospeh, but he did it for Mary too.!4
Just think how remarkable it is that this was believed from the beginning, when:no one was expecting this, they experienced mockery for this claim,they knew very well that it was not possible in human terms,but they persisted in proclaiming this as part of the Good News of Jesus. // There’s no in between position is there? You either dismiss it or believe it. That Jesus both entered the world and left the world by supernatural power, or not. And what I want to suggest is: if God is God, why would we be surprised by that? If we believe that God is Almighty, the creator of heaven and earth,that if he is the one who created us in the beginning,then surely it is possible to continue to act in creative ways. If you believe even in the possibility of God,then of course you must believe that this is possible. That’s why we can believe this. But it’s far more interesting to ask, ‘Why does this matter?” I just want to suggest three implications of believing this. That Jesus being conceived by the Holy Spirit, and born of the Virgin Mary,is a sign to show us that it’s in Jesus, that we find our:Hopes Fulfilled; God with Us; and New Creation Unfolding.!5#1 HOPES FULFILLED (JESUS) \\ VERSES 20-21So the first implication to which this points,is that it is in Jesus that we find our hopes fulfilled.Before the announcement of the pending birth, verses 18 onwards in chapter 1,Matthew commences his Gospel with an abridged genealogy (a family tree). And whilst, some might find this sought of thing a bit tedious,the whole point of this carefully-crafted family tree, is incredibly exciting. Beginning with Abraham, in three sets of fourteen,it’s designed to act as a drumroll for whatever comes next. We should have an immense sense of anticipation,as Matthew recalls the history of Israel, with all of its longings and hopes,that it’s about to reach it’s long-awaited goal with the name at the end of the list. The list is preparing us to hear the greatest birth announcement in history! But what we soon discover is that this is going to happen in the most amazing way. Jesus is about to come bounding onto the scene,and we’re to be left with no doubt that this is God’s initiative and God’s action.!6
The long-awaited era of fulfilment has dawned, and it centres on the person of Jesus. It’s almost like we see the ordinary and the extraordinary, come rushing together. “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived inher is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus,because he will save his people from their sins.” (vv.20b)In the Hebrew culture, the name of the child was really important. In our culture, sometimes we give a name to a child because we like the sound of it,other times people do it because people really like the meaning of the name. But when God gave someone a name, it always mattered. And so here we have the most remarkable news, that this baby, from God,conceived by the Holy Spirit, is to be called “Jesus”, meaning, ‘The Lord Saves’. In the name of Jesus, God is signalling that the long hope of God redeeming Israelfrom all their sins, is going to be fulfilled in this child. And it’s all God’s doing! And whilst it would normally be the domain of the parent to give the child the name,because they are the ones with authority in the child’s life, we note that,it’s not Mary and Joseph who get to choose the name,!7because not only is this child God’s Son, but it’s because Jesus is God,that he will actually have authority over them,because he’s come to be their Saviour as well! That flies in the face of the idea that Mary was sinless.Sometimes, in order to try and figure out how Jesus was without sin,people have thought, well Mary must have been without sin, and some have evenextended that further to say that her mother must have been without sin. But that just isn’t Scriptural at all. We know that Mary saw herself as a saved sinner,praising God, singing at the news that Jesus would be born, that her ‘Soul glorifies theLord, my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour”. Mary in great humility understands that this child will be her Saviour too,because she needs one as much as any other person. The reason that Jesus was sinless, is not because of the virgin conception,it’s certainly not because Mary was without sin, but because Jesus was God!Note just how exclusive that claim is. That it doesn’t matter how good we are, we cannot eliminate the sin in our own lives.!8
A man being sinless is just as much of a miracle as a virgin conceptionbut I suspect the reason we find it easier to believe in Jesus being sinless,is because there’s actually some part of us that thinks we could achieve that too. But we can’t. God didn’t send someone to instruct us, but someone to save us.He didn’t come to help people save themselves, he came to save them. The conception was a supernatural act of God,confirming that God himself was about to accomplish the salvationwhich no human could achieve, but every human was in need.!9#2 GOD WITH US (EMMANUEL) \\ VERSES 22-23That’s the first implication.The second implication is that it is in Jesus that we find God with Us. The one in whom our hopes are fulfilled, is no less than God himself!That’s what the name Emmanuel is all about:All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will conceive andgive birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”). (v.22)The prophet that is being referred to here is that of Isaiah. And in that situation, what was being foreshadowed,was a child who would be born on whom the Spirit of the Lord would rest, or remain. And whilst the name Jesus was a very common name at the time,no one dared to call their name Emmanuel, because the claim would simply be too much. And so what we discover is that their God, who has been at work on his people,right back from Abraham - remember that was part of the point of the genealogy,has now come to dwell among them. God himself has become flesh.!10
He’s fully human. He’ll grow up, cry, eat, walk, feel pain, he’ll even die.But he’s also unique, but he’s completely God as well.This really messes with our brains, it’s a radical concept!But for those receiving the news, it was even more unexpected,that the long-awaited Son of David would also be God’s Son. Right there, with them. We can easily take that for granted. But keep in mind how radical this notion was. The Romans, who believed in lots of gods, none of which were perfect,thought that gods wouldn’t possibly want to waste their time and belittle themselvesby doing something so unthinkable as coming down to earth. The Eastern view thought there were lots of spiritual forces, that god was animpersonal force, it was bizarre for them to think that God could be personal,and a person fully God. And for the Jewish people, who believed in one God, who was exalted and allpowerful, the God whom they dared not make an image or say his name,such was his holiness compared to their brokenness,the idea that God would give them not just a representation of himself,but actually come in person was mind-blowing.!11 But that’s the claim right from the outset of the Gospel. Fully human and fully God.And whilst some people think that including this line in the Apostles’ Creed is obscure,it guards against three main errors that we can make when it comes to Jesus’ humanity. It guards against us thinking that Jesus was God merely masquerading a person It guards against us thinking that Jesus was just a man, but not God It guards against us thinking that Jesus was born a human and later adopted as God’s Son. By acknowledging that from the beginning, of the very conception itself,that in Jesus he is not only the one who has come to save the world,but he because he is both fully God and fully Human, he’s the only one who can.!12
#3 NEW CREATION UNFOLDING \\ REVELATION 12:1-5 His birth guaranteeing that his humanity is real,the virgin conception pointing to him being God. His supernatural conception points to his sinlessness,that unlike every other human being,he need not be born again, because he is the second Adam,a new humanity has begun in him.That’s the third implication: that it is in Jesus we see New Creation Unfolding. Mary was pregnant through the Holy Spirit (v.18b);because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit (v.20b) Just as the Spirit was active, brooding over creation,as the agent of God’s life-giving purposes in creation,is now active in Mary’s pregnancy. The conception of Jesus signifies that a New Kingdom and renewed Creation,will soon begin to unfold, and it’s all going to centre in Jesus. In his death, he will pay the price for sin,and in his resurrection, he will reverse the effect of death itself.!13 N T Wright puts it like this:The virgin-al conception speaks powerfully of new creation, something fresh happening within the oldworld, beyond the reach and dreams of the possibilities we currently know. And if we believe that theGod we’re talking about is the creator of the world, beyond the reach and dreams of the possibilities wecurrently know. And if we believe that the God we’re talking about is the creator of the world, wholongs to rescue the world from its corruption and decay, then an act of real new creation, anticipatingin fact the great moment of Easter itself, might just be what we should expect It’s through Jesus that sin and death have been defeated,it’s through Jesus that sin and death will be destroyed.In Revelation 12 you can read of this amazing scene of a woman and a dragon,and as the woman is about to give birth, the dragon stands there ready to devour the chid.But that’s not what happens.The child is born, he is born to rule, and he sits on God’s throne. Whilst the enemy would long for him to be destroyed,it is Jesus who will destroy that enemy.His work of new creation will be not be overcome. //!14
CONCLUSION \\ VERSES 24-25When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home ashis wife. But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him thename Jesus. (vv.24-25)If Mary and Jospeh could come to trust in God’s promise,even when it seemed impossible to them, so can we. This is not mythology: it’s history. It’s through God’s initiative in Jesus,that our hopes are fulfilled,that God is with us;and that new creation is unfolding. I understand biology,but I believe in Jesus Christ,conceived by the Holy Spirit,and born of the Virgin Mary.!15
Christ and reflect on how you can hand them over to Jesus day by day. WARM-UP Question 1. Do you think that some people find the virgin birth to be more difficult to accept than the resurrection or other miracles? If so, why
